


Trusting The Trickster

by ozhawk



Series: Shadows and Light [4]
Category: Marvel, Marvel (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: BAMF Sif, F/M, Loki Feels, Loki Has Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-12
Updated: 2014-11-12
Packaged: 2018-02-25 03:00:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,904
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2606051
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ozhawk/pseuds/ozhawk
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>OK, so this is a little scene right after Thor leaves Asgard at the end of Thor 2 and we see that Loki is masquerading as Odin. For an explanation of why Loki is sitting on the throne, read Glass Houses written by Eternal Love Song; this fits totally in my headcanon and the author has been kind enough to let me borrow it.</p><p>Disclaimer: Marvel own all these lovely characters.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“Yes, thank you, brother. Thank you very fucking much.” Loki leaned back against the throne, his smile disappearing. He was still sitting there, alone, an hour later when he felt the tug of magic in his bones that told him the Bifrost was opening. And half an hour after that when the throne room doors opened. Of course, he was wearing his illusion of Odin again by then.

Heimdall entered the room, followed by Sif, Fandral, Volstagg and – Loki blinked – Hogun. He’d thought Hogun intended to stay on Vanaheim with his own people.

“What do you here, Hogun?” he asked, in Odin’s voice.

“It seems we’re not quite done with war yet,” Hogun lifted one shoulder in a slight shrug before lapsing into his customary silence.

“Many of our finest warriors perished in the fight with the Svartalfar,” Fandral said. “With Thor gone, we need every capable warrior we can find.”

“Thor will return if he is needed,” Heimdall rumbled. “He is vowed to protect all the Nine Realms.”

They all fell silent, and stood watching him. Loki sighed.

“You know, don’t you?”

“The Allfather called me to him before he laid down for the Odinsleep,” Heimdall replied. “He told me of his plans, and he told me who I could trust.” He indicated the four around him. “Thor knows nothing of this.”

“Nor shall he learn it from our mouths. We are all sworn to secrecy,” Volstagg replied.

Loki dropped the illusion. None of the warriors standing before him changed expression, though Sif’s hand twitched towards her sword. Loki watched her warily. She hadn’t spoken yet; and she was the one who could probably derail everything if she wished. Heimdall was her brother and would listen to her, and the other three followed her without question, at least in Thor’s absence.

“Lady Sif,” he said quietly. “Will you give me your loyalty while I sit here as Regent?”

Her hand clenched on her sword-hilt, her beautiful face twitching with suppressed emotion. She did not speak, and she did not kneel. So Loki leaned forward on the throne and told her the truth.

“Because I need your help. All of you.”

Emotions finally registered on their faces. Surprise. Wariness.

“Why?” Fandral asked.

“Because I cannot do everything that Odin can do. The ravens can’t stand me, for one. I can create illusions so that it looks as though they come to me, but they won’t. I know they like you, Volstagg. I need you to talk to them, to find out what I need to know.”

Volstagg grinned, nodding. Hugin and Munin did like him, mainly because he always fed them.

“I need Heimdall to keep me informed of events on Midgard; because I have promises to keep there. I am oath-bound to protect Midgard from alien threats and we do not know what escaped to Earth during the Convergence. I cannot go unless the Avengers call me, and they must continue to think I am dead, or Thor will want to return.” It was a difficult conundrum; he had to keep two conflicting oaths, and he would definitely need help from the warriors standing before him.

“Fandral, you are commander of the Palace Guard: to you I leave the security of Asgard. There are still escaped prisoners out there that Kurse released. They must be found.”

The Guardian nodded in agreement to his request; Heimdall knew the details of Loki’s oath to Jen Barton. Fandral agreed too; he understood the necessity of what Loki asked, quite apart from the fact that he was realistically only being asked to do his job. They could not hand back Asgard in chaos when the Allfather emerged from the Odinsleep.

“Hogun,” Loki turned to the silent warrior of Vanaheim. “I did not know you had returned, but I am glad that you have. I need you to be what you have always been, the silent watcher. Travel among the Realms, feel the mood of the citizens, and report back to me or Fandral if there is anything we need to deal with.”

Hogun nodded once, an almost pleased expression crossing his face. He loved to travel and to observe. Perhaps he should begin training as another Guardian. Heimdall wasn’t invincible, after all. Loki filed that thought for later and turned to the last of the warriors in front of him. She spoke before he did, her voice laced with sarcasm.

“And what task do you have for me, _Regent_ of Asgard?”

“Leave us,” Loki looked at the others. It annoyed him that they waited for Sif’s nod before filing out. Heimdall lingered longest, looking at his sister until she gestured impatiently. The door closed behind Heimdall with a solid _thunk_.

“Will you sit, my Lady Sif?” he stood and walked to a group of chairs set to one side, used sometimes by Odin’s advisors.

“Just Sif, Loki,” she sighed, taking a seat opposite him, though he noticed she sat on the edge of the chair, ready to move quickly, her hand never far from the hilt of her sword. She could kill him with that blade, he knew: she’d made a point of seeking him out in his prison cell and informing him that she’d studied up on Jotun biology and knew exactly where his weak spots were. It wasn’t for nothing that the Vikings had worshipped her as the Goddess of War. “Just call me Sif.”

The only blessing was that she had no magic. That she couldn’t see that he retained one small illusion.

“As you wish, Sif,” he inclined his head slightly to her.

“What is it that you want of me, Loki?” She met his eyes directly. He fought not to twitch in his seat. Why, oh _why_ did this passion for strong women beset him? He’d loved Guinevere, the warrior queen, had wanted her descendant Jen. Who had, like Guinevere before her, chosen a warrior. A woman of such strength would never choose a man like him, who fought with guile and cunning, he was coming to understand that now. Sif was no different.

Of course, she had refused Thor. Well, Odin, when he had demanded she offer herself to Thor as a bride. But perhaps that was because she knew well that Thor had no taste for the idea.

Loki dragged his thoughts back into some semblance of order as Sif arched a perfect black brow at him, waiting for him to speak.

“I need you to be my conscience.”

“Well,” she drawled, “you’re certainly in need of one. But why me?”

“Because of everyone in Asgard, you and Heimdall are perhaps the only two with a chance of stopping me if I step out of line. And he’s busy.”

She relaxed slightly into her chair, watching him from stormy grey eyes. He wished that he could tell what she was thinking, but he’d never been able to read Sif.

“So what exactly would being your conscience entail?” she asked finally.

“I tend towards a calculated, devious approach. You know this. And I’m honest enough with myself to know that I am quite vicious. Both of those traits are not well in character for Odin, and they are completely out of character for _you_. I’m hoping that between us we can find a middle ground that will fool the rest of Asgard into believing that my father still holds the throne.”

She tapped a slender finger against her lips. “I agree with your assessment,” she said eventually, “though your lady mother’s death would be cause enough for Odin to act out of character, more in line with your own natural tendencies.”

He flinched, and she leaned forward. “Loki – I’m sorry. I’m genuinely sorry for Lady Frigga’s death. She was like a mother to me too, since my own passed on.”

“I know,” he said, after a deep, ragged breath. “Also, I have obligations I must keep. My oath to protect Midgard.”

“Heimdall told me of it,” Sif said, still watching him with compassion on her face. “All these years, and you still regret Guinevere?” she said softly, when he did not speak for a moment.

“You were her closest friend, Sif, who could not have loved her? And her daughter in this time is just as amazing, in her own way. I in my selfishness believed I was more worthy than the archer.”

She only watched him silently while he struggled to contain his emotions. And damn her for knowing him so well, anyway!

Loki controlled himself. Smoothed his expression. “My year of imprisonment is not yet complete. Thor had agreed to oversee the sentence and when he brought me out, agreed that for every hour I spend outside the cell, I must spend another hour inside it, until the full count of hours for the year has been served. I need you to be my jailer. And, if necessary, to act on Midgard on my behalf.”

She looked surprised at that. “You trust me that far?”

“I trust you with my life already, Sif. You _know_ I’m not Odin.”

“True.” She considered him for a long moment, and then slowly nodded her head, long raven tresses swaying around her as she got to her feet. “I will help you, Loki. Yes.”

“First,” he stood, offering his hand to seal the bargain, “I need you and Volstagg to run an errand for me.”

It wasn’t until she’d left the room, closing the door behind her, that Loki sagged back into his chair, dropping the last small illusion and putting his hand to his groin to adjust himself painfully. He could never, _ever_ let Sif know how much she aroused him. Because if he did, she’d castrate him with that damned sword. Why did his tailor make his bloody trousers so _tight_?

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **LOL sorry, couldn’t resist that last bit. This scene explains for me why Sif turns up in Agents of SHIELD hunting Lorelei, and also how Loki manages to keep his oath to Jen, while still letting Thor go to be with Jane and obeying Odin. Loki’s gonna have to work his butt off and Sif will keep his nose to the grindstone :)**


	2. The Final Proof

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I decided to go on and write the scene where Loki sent Sif to Midgard to hunt down Lorelei, and what happened when Sif got back to Asgard with her prisoner. So here it is!
> 
> Disclaimer: Marvel own all characters.

Some days, Loki thought the exhaustion would break him.

How Odin had managed all this, he could not fathom. The old man had made it look so damn effortless. Loki was doing his best to portray Odin’s usual (slightly grim) demeanour to the world – it made the illusion of his foster-father’s face easier – but he had the feeling that those who knew Odin well were concerned about him.

 _Of course they’re concerned about him, he’s still grieving Frigga_ , Loki thought, pain shadowing his eyes as he thought of his lovely mother. And he suspected that Frigga had shared far more of the ruling of Asgard than he had ever realised. The pettiest little problems kept being brought to his notice, that he was sure Frigga would once have handled.

“Delegate,” Fandral said with a shrug. The Warriors Three, Loki and Sif had taken to joining Heimdall in the Bifrost Chamber at the end of the day, sharing information and ideas, deciding on tactics and strategy. Effectively, Asgard was now run by a council with Loki as its figurehead. He smiled humourlessly at that thought. And to think he had once wanted to be sole ruler! What an idiot. He relied so heavily on these five, could not imagine how he could make fair decisions without them.

“To whom?” Loki asked wearily. “These tasks were those my mother would have handled: I know nothing of them. Lady Sif…?”

“Household management is not one of my skills, as you know,” she replied with a small smile. “But perhaps some of your mother’s former ladies-in-waiting? Lady Eidr served with her for many years, Lady Frigga always said that she could not do without her advice. She would be honoured to assist Odin, I am sure.”

“Thank you, Sif,” Loki said, genuinely surprised and pleased. It was rare for Sif to offer a helpful suggestion. Usually she confined herself to making biting remarks about how inadequate he was as a ruler, whenever he admitted to some problem he could not manage.

Heimdall suddenly stiffened, gazing out across the cosmos. “Damn her!” he snapped suddenly.

“What is it?” they all turned to him quickly.

“Lorelei. She has kept herself hidden from my sight since escaping from prison during the Dark Elves’ attack. But she has somehow managed to create a portal and travel between the worlds: she is on Midgard!”

“Looking for Thor?” Fandral asked immediately.

“She – is not on the same continent as he is, right now. He remains in Londinium with his Lady Jane, and Lorelei is in the land of the Americas.” Heimdall frowned, leaning forward. “No – she is gone from my sight once more.”

“We must hunt her down,” Hogun said softly, as many words as the quiet Vanir had spoken all evening. “She will wreak havoc upon unprepared Midgardians.”

“She will seek to make herself queen over them,” Sif said coldly, her nostrils flaring. Loki looked at her, remembering. Yes, Sif had more reason to hate Lorelei than any of them. Lorelei had stolen Haldor, Sif’s husband of just a few months, entranced him and used him to lead her shock troops in a war of conquest. He’d died, leaving Sif heartbroken.

Lorelei hadn’t stopped there, though. She’d tried to seduce Thor to her bed, and when that hadn’t worked, had taken him prisoner and attempted to force him to mate with her. Amazingly, Thor had resisted her long enough for them to mount a rescue. Loki had used his own magic to silence Lorelei before he and Frigga made the special collar for her neck, but the sight of his brother, bloody and bruised, chained down to a bed, came back to him now, and Loki realised what he had forgotten. He had forgotten that Thor too knew what it was like to be tortured and enslaved.

“Please, Loki,” Sif said, interrupting his reverie. “Let me go and kill her.”

“Not yet,” Loki said, raising his hand to forestall the protest he could see her about to voice. “Would Odin order her killed, Sif? You know as well as I do that he would have her brought back here for trial first. So that is what you must do. Do you wish for any help? I dare not send any male Asgardian warriors with you, for fear that Lorelei might subvert them – Midgardians can be formidable foes indeed without adding those your equal in strength to the equation.”

Sif smiled, actually _smiled_ at him. “No, thank you, Loki. I believe this is a job best done alone. With your permission, I will get my things and return here to the Bifrost; best I pick up her trail before it goes cold.”

“I will bring you a spare collar. She will long since have rid herself of the one she wore while imprisoned,” Loki said.

They met again in the Bifrost chamber less than an hour later. The Warriors Three had returned to their work and as Heimdall prepared to open the Bifrost, Loki and Sif had, for a few moments, the illusion of privacy.

Loki dropped his illusions and stood before Sif wearing his true face. She gave him a wry little smile.

“I will not forget whose orders I am following, Loki.”

“Take care down there, Sif,” Loki cast a glance at Heimdall. “Midgard is very different to how it once was – and mortals can be very dangerous, never mind Lorelei.”

Sif grinned, a sudden flash of white teeth, and tossed her dark hair back. “Don’t you know, Loki?” she said as she strode towards the Bifrost, “I’m dangerous too!”

The last word was swallowed by the crashing static as the bridge activated, and then she was gone. Loki stood in silence for several long minutes, staring at the space where he last saw her, until the Bifrost settled and the chamber was quiet again.

“My sister can take care of herself,” Heimdall rumbled, and Loki jumped.

“Yes. Yes, I know she can. After all, Lorelei’s been rotting in prison for six hundred years while Sif has only been improving her battle skills, has she not?”

 “Aye,” Heimdall’s eyes were distant. “Sif has already found allies. The shieldfolk. They will aid her in her quest. All being well, she should return with her prisoner shortly.” He turned his unsettling golden gaze on Loki. “I will report to you regularly, my liege, to keep you advised of her progress.”

“Thank you,” Loki said, recognising the dismissal. “Please have Lady Sif bring Lorelei to me directly on her return.”

Heimdall inclined his head, and watched as Loki resettled his illusions and began to walk back along the bridge to Asgard. The Guardian left unvoiced his most pressing question.

_What will you do with Lorelei once she is in your power, Trickster? With an ally such as she, you would be dangerous indeed._

 

Loki was meditating quietly in his cell, following a visit from another of Natasha’s ‘friends’, a man who appeared to be made out of rock, having been transformed during an accident in space. A quiet sound outside his cell made him look up, and he saw Fandral standing there, watching him.

“Fandral. Is aught wrong?” Loki stood up and moved forward.

“I really didn’t think you’d do it,” Fandral blurted. “I really didn’t think you’d willingly go back in the cell to serve out the time of punishment Ginevra’s mortal descendant laid on you.”

Loki sighed, bending his head. “Fandral, I consider myself lucky that she spared my _life_. I have learned a great deal about myself during this punishment. I look back at what I was a year ago and shake my head in disgust. I was selfish and short-sighted, thinking only of what I wanted, not the greater good.”

Fandral stared at him in silence for a moment, and then, much to Loki’s surprise, he went to one knee and pressed his fist to his chest in a gesture of deepest respect. “Should Odin never awaken and Thor never return, you will have my loyalty, my prince.”

Humbled, Loki shook his head. “Do not say such things, Fandral! This is not my throne, and frankly? I no longer want it.”

Fandral stood, smiling wryly, waving his hand over the control panel to open the cell. “Well, my prince, I am afraid you must put on your kingly mantle for a while yet. Sif is returned from Midgard, with Lorelei muzzled and in chains.”

“Excellent!” Loki smiled, and it wasn’t a pleasant smile. “Let us go, then, Fandral. The throne room?”

“Yes, sire,” Fandral replied, following Loki as he strode forward, Odin’s visage settling over him easily, the enchantment as familiar to him by now as breathing.

Heimdall and several Einherjar had escorted Sif and Lorelei to the throne room. Loki looked at Sif first: she looked weary but well, and had no visible wounds. She gave him a tightly triumphant smile as he walked to his throne, and with a twist of her wrist she flung Lorelei at his feet.

Loki looked down at the siren before him. Lorelei was beautiful, he noted clinically; it had been a long time since he had seen her, several centuries. She had been kept in a different part of the dungeons to him and he had not seen her during her escape. Her russet hair framed an absolutely stunning face, and as she knelt before him blue-green eyes flashed with rage.

Loki glanced up and saw Heimdall watching him. He had the sudden feeling that the Guardian was waiting for him to make a move. Surely Heimdall didn’t think he’d be foolish enough to free Lorelei and try to make an ally of her? The witch would never tolerate playing second fiddle to anyone.

“Lorelei of Asgard,” he rumbled in Odin’s harsh voice, “it seems in six hundred years imprisoned, you have learned nothing.”

Lorelei’s eyes flashed up towards him in surprise. Her brows furrowed.

“Everyone out except Heimdall and the Lady Sif,” Loki ordered. Fandral raised eyebrows at him, but ushered the Einherjar out. Loki didn’t want to take any risks. He knew both he and Heimdall could not be entranced by Lorelei’s voice alone, and he had no intention of getting close enough for her to touch him. “All right, Sif, uncollar her and let’s hear what she has to say.”

Lorelei didn’t bother trying to entrance Odin. Instead she let fly with a string of ripe curses until Sif smacked her around the back of the head.

“Shut up, bitch!”

“You dare!”

“I am beginning to think that imprisoning you has been a waste of time and resources,” Loki said meditatively. “In six hundred years, your goals and your attitude are unchanged. You still believe that your abilities entitle you to be a queen. You take what you want without caring about the welfare of others, and I cannot see that you are ever going to change, are you, Lorelei?”

“Lock me away again then,” she spat at him. “And when Ragnarok comes, I will dance on your grave!”

“No,” Loki said, “I don’t think you will. I think the Nine Realms are better off without you, Lorelei. Better off without your poison dripping into the ears of good men, turning them from their duty and their loved ones to serve your selfish ends. Why should we ever allow you another opportunity?”

Lorelei stared at him disbelievingly. He obviously didn’t sound like Odin, who preferred to wash his hands of such problems and would simply have sent her straight back to her jail cell. Sif was staring at Loki too, dawning hope on her face.

“Collar her again, if you would, my Lady Sif,” Loki ordered, “and deliver her for execution at daybreak tomorrow. I will waste no more of Asgard’s resources keeping a prisoner who has no wish to be redeemed.”

Lorelei appeared to scream, but Sif had already snapped the collar back on and she could not make a sound. Sif took a grim relish in jerking Lorelei to her feet by her hair and dragging her from the room.

“That was well done, my liege,” Heimdall rumbled, and to Loki’s surprise, he braced at attention with one hand against his chest before leaving the room in the wake of the two women.

Loki sat down on the throne – and that was another thing, Odin’s arse must be solid granite – and sighed. Gestures of respect from both Fandral and Heimdall, what next?

 

Next came Sif herself. Loki did not bother to attend Lorelei’s execution – he would not give her that mush distinction. Sif came to him afterwards, while he was poring over some incomprehensible reports in Odin’s study.

“Thank you,” she said abruptly from the doorway.

“What for?” Loki looked up, chewing absently on the end of his stylus. Sif closed the door behind her and walked towards him.

“Would you drop the illusion, Loki? I want to see your true face.”

Surprised, he did so, and stood up as she came to stand before him. And then stared as she went to one knee at his feet, took his hand in hers and bent her head, touching her brow to his knuckles.

“Six hundred years I have waited for justice,” she said softly. “And today, you gave it to me.” Sif lifted her face, and for the very first time he could ever remember, Loki saw on her face an expression of pure, blazing joy. “ _Thank you_ ,” she said.

 _Oh_. Loki drew in a sharp breath, amazed by the feeling coursing through him. Not triumph. Not victory. No, it was just pure satisfaction, because he had done the _right thing_. He had destroyed a threat to Asgard, to all the Nine Realms, and in doing so he had given Sif reason to smile like that. “You’re welcome?” he said a bit inadequately.

“Well, you have my gratitude, Loki.” Sif hesitated. “Heimdall feared that you might seek to make Lorelei an ally, I think…”

Loki shook his head, lifting Sif’s hand so that she stood up. “She could never be trusted. Besides – what could she give me that I want? The throne of Asgard is mine – and I _don’t_ want it, not anymore. All Lorelei wants to do is be a queen, an absolute, petty tyrant. The last thing any nation needs!”

Sif was still smiling at him, but if anything her smile grew broader. “Ah, Loki,” she said. “Such a king you will be!”

He shook his head firmly. “I don’t want the throne any more. I’ve learned what it is to sit in that chair, Sif; it’s a prison, a torture chamber with chains of duty.”

Sif’s smile grew tender. “And yet you shoulder that duty, Loki. Thor left because he knew he lacked the will to take it on; you accepted it willingly and continue to shoulder it, despite the other debts you must pay.”

“I accepted _blindly_ ,” Loki said with a sigh. “And I completely understand why Thor left. If I had a woman like Jane Foster waiting for me, I’d leave too.”

Sif’s smile slipped, and Loki realised his mistake. “Sif, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“Hurt me?” she looked at him with a puzzled frown. “How should the mention of Jane Foster hurt me?”

Loki sputtered. “You – and Thor…”

“Never,” Sif let out a quiet laugh. “No, Thor is as another brother to me. I know his faults too well. No, I grieve _for_ Thor, because Lady Jane is a mortal and his time with her will be all too short. I know too well what it is to have one you wished to love for eternity snatched from you too soon.”

“Oh, Sif.” Of course today would have reminded her of her lost husband. She never spoke of Haldor, but Loki remembered them together. Sif had smiled so much more in those days, and Haldor had doted on her. “Do you still grieve for Haldor?” Gently, he put his hand on her arm and guided her to a couch; she sat down unhesitatingly beside him, and he rejoiced silently when she did not shrug away his hand.

“I cannot remember his face,” Sif admitted in a low, strangled voice. “I remember his voice, the way he made me feel. But it has been so long – I feel so guilty that I cannot remember his face!” And, for the first time Loki could remember, he saw tears begin to slip down her cheeks.

“Sif,” he said softly. “It’s all right. It’s been a very long time. Haldor would not have wanted you to grieve for him forever.”

She leaned in to him, and, hesitantly, he put his arm around her shoulders. It had been a long time since anyone had looked to him for affection, but Sif seemed to have no compunction about it. She put her arms around his waist and leaned her head on his shoulder.

“I know,” she said in a slightly choked voice. “But – while he was yet unavenged, I felt as though I could not let him go. Today – I am finally free.”

There wasn’t much Loki could say to that. So he sat in silence, holding the warrior maid to him, stroking her hair, humming softly under his breath to soothe her as she wept.

Finally Sif moved back, and he let her go, looking tactfully away as she swiped her fingers over her cheeks to remove the evidence of her tears. “Thank you, Loki,” she said at last.

“It was something Odin should have done long ago,” Loki shrugged. “Perhaps he will be angry when he awakes, but truly, I could see no other way. We have lost too many soldiers to waste one standing guard outside the cell of a criminal we could never release. Lorelei would never have changed her ways; she was quite simply too dangerous to let live.”

“I meant for the comfort. But thank you for ridding us of Lorelei as well. I agree with your decision, biased though I may be.” Sif smiled at him again, her eyes shining, and he thought that it was quite unfair that she should still look so beautiful when a couple of minutes before she’d been a sobbing mess.

“For the comfort, you are welcome any time,” Loki said sincerely. “We’re friends, aren’t we? I trust you more than any other, Sif, you must know that.”

“Do you really?” she tilted her head and stared at him. “Yes,” she said slowly, thinking over their recent interactions, “I suppose that you do, don’t you? Despite the way we have fought in the past.”

Loki lifted her hand and kissed it impulsively. “Lady Sif,” he told her, “I trust you _because_ of all those times we have fought in the past. You have always been wiser than I.”

“Oh come now, that is shameless flattery!” Sif laughed. “How many times have you talked me out of a scrape before I got myself into it with my recklessness?”

Loki grinned. “Not so many times as you have convinced me not to play a prank for fear of the consequences.”

They both chuckled, and then Loki realised he was still holding Sif’s hand. She was looking at it, but making no effort to pull away, and then she looked up into his eyes.

“Sif,” Loki said hoarsely after they had just stared at each other for several long minutes, “one word from you will silence me on the subject forever…”

She didn’t let him say any more. And she didn’t need to speak. She just leaned in and kissed him.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **I’d love to know what you think about Loki and Sif – I dithered for ages before deciding to pair them and writing this scene.**
> 
> **And did anyone spot the classic literary work that I swiped Loki's last line to Sif from? Bonus points if you can tell me in the comments!**


End file.
